The evening began with a joke from interim Mayor Ed Lee, a resident of gay Supervisor Scott
Wiener's District 8, who said he has
"always looked up to him."

Lee was making fun of the two political leaders' height
difference – Wiener at 6 feet 7 inches towers over the diminutive mayor.
But the town hall the two leaders held last week soon turned serious as they
faced questions from the audience of several hundred people inside Mission High
School's auditorium.

The April 14 public forum was the first one the two leaders
have held in the Castro district since being sworn into their respective
offices in January. And while billed as a meeting to hear residents' concerns
on how to resolve the city's budget deficit, other issues dominated the
evening.

Chief among them were reports of a pack of coyotes roaming
Glen Canyon and Diamond Heights; Wiener's handling of a Muni incident in which
a train he was riding left the station with a door open; and the status of a
queer youth space at the Castro's recreation center.

Rather than Wiener and Lee being in the hot seat during the
two-hour forum, it was Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil
Ginsburg who found himself repeatedly
pressed about his handling of a number of issues, from programs for queer youth
and city pool hours to off-leash dog areas and upkeep of the city's outdoor
spaces.

The issue that caused the most uproar among the crowd
– including two women whom police escorted out of the balcony area for
trying to unfurl a banner – was the status of the drop-in space for
homeless queer youth at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center. According to the
activist group QUEEN – which stands for Queers for Economic Equality Now
– the space has been closed since last August.

In a flier the group handed out at the town hall, they claim
that Ginsburg's department "says that drop-in, cost-free, and transitional
age youth programming does not fit in with its new staffing model or fee-based
programming structure."

A number of speakers pressed Ginsburg about why the youth
space was no longer available and demanded that it be re-opened.

"It is unacceptable any of these funds be cut,"
said Beck, a transgender queer youth
who goes by one name and is the youth programs coordinator at the LGBT
Community Center, speaking generally about the city targeting services for
queer youth in order to balance its budget. "I would love to make
referrals to services at EVRC."

According to a schedule provided to the Bay Area Reporter
by rec and park staff, the EVRC youth space
is open for 18- to 24-year-olds Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.;
Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and
Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The schedule is good through May 21.

Ginsburg said he supports the space and suggested that a new
community advisory panel was being formed to help program activities at EVRC.
He also pointed out that there are also queer-youth specific offerings at the
center alongside Collingwood Park, such as a cooking class (Thursdays from 6:30
to 8:30 p.m.) and a breakfast/brunch pantry (Saturdays).

"We are firmly committed to a queer youth space at
EVRC. We want it to be safe and supervised," said Ginsburg. "We are
absolutely, positively committed to working with queer youth on what they want
to do with that space."

Two speakers expressed concerns that the city wasn't doing
anything to address a reported coyote pack seen roaming through Glen Canyon and
near the Safeway atop the open space area in Diamond Heights. One woman said
she was so afraid from seeing the animals she couldn't get out of her car.

Ginsburg advised dog owners to keep their pets on-leash
while in the area, and Wiener asked anyone who sees the pack to immediately
contact both his office and the city's animal control.

"It is illegal in California to relocate them. And the
state Fish and Game's solution is often to shoot them," said Wiener.
"If you see them let us know right away."

As for off-leash dog areas, Ginsburg said he was hopeful
that national parks officials would not ban dogs from popular sites such as
Ocean Beach, Crissy Field and Fort Funston.

"Dog use issues are very tricky. If the Golden Gate
National Recreation Area restricts dogs, it is going to put pressure on our
neighborhood parks," said Ginsburg. "They have agreed to talk to us
and listen to us. Communication is ongoing."

One man suggested Wiener was responsible for "gross
negligence" due to his not stopping a Muni train that left Van Ness
station with a door open. A video that showed Wiener and other passengers
seemingly nonchalant about the incident went viral this month.

Wiener defended his response, stating he suggested those
nearest the door move away from it and that the driver had announced he was
aware of the problem. Having defended the city in court as a former deputy city
attorney from lawsuits filed by Muni riders injured when a train's emergency
brake had been pulled, he said he ruled out doing that as an option.

"It would have made it worse and potentially thrown
people out of the door," said Wiener, whom the mayor appointed last week
to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, where he will serve alongside
his gay colleague District 9 Supervisor David Campos.

As for the budget, the city is facing a $306 million deficit
in its general fund. The mayor has asked all departments to cut their budgets
– or find revenues – equaling 10 percent. He also has asked for an
additional 10 percent in contingency cuts.

While various cuts being proposed would impact LGBT programs
at numerous agencies, there was some glimmer of good budget news to come out of
the town hall. As of now the city does not intend to make cuts to HIV and AIDS
services.

However, that could change if $4 million in funding under
the federal Ryan White CARE Act set to be cut is not restored to the city by
Congress and President Barack Obama.

"There will be none to HIV/AIDS health care because we
may be facing reduced Ryan White act funding," said Gregg Sass, the Department of Public Health's chief financial
officer. "The situation in Washington is unclear and fluid. We know the
president has included that $4 million in his budget."

Sass said the city wouldn't know for certain if the federal
funding will come through until the fall. In years past, House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has been able to
restore the funds.